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Edwin Edwards will announce run for Congress on Monday, sources say

edwin edwards the governor's wife

Former La. Gov. Edwin Edwards poses in a promotional image for A&E's "The Governor's Wife." The 86-year-old former federal inmate will announce his run for Congress on Monday (March 17), sources say. (Photo by Scott Schafer)

Former Gov. Edwin Edwards is known for his brazen, often shocking quotes. But the announcement slated to issue forth from Edwards' lips Monday (March 17) at the Press Club of Baton Rouge might be one of his most surprising yet.

The four-term governor and former federal inmate is running for Congress, according to multiple sources close to Edwards. He will run in Louisiana's strongly Republican 6th District, which snakes its way from north Baton Rouge through Ascension and all the way down to the Houma-Thibodaux area. The field is already bloated, but doesn't yet feature a strong Democratic candidate.

Edwards' announcement will come Monday during the weekly meeting of the capital area press club. He won't confirm his intentions beforehand, but capital followers say it's a fait accompli -- he's already been polling and has even booked on several local TV and radio stations for their Tuesday morning broadcasts.

But while some might say his candidacy is a throw away stunt, aimed at keeping the 86-year-old in the spotlight, others think the Marksville native known as the Silver Fox is trying to redeem himself politically with a graft-free performance in what would be his fifth term in Congress.

"He has a magnetism that attracts Republicans and Democrats alike," said one longtime friend of the governor who asked to be anonymous. "Will that translate into votes? I'm just not sure. But if anybody with his baggage can get elected to Congress, it would be him."

At one time, Edwards would also have benefited by his close ties to the Chabert family, which wields significant influence in the coastal regions of the district. Former state lawmaker Leonard Chabert was close with Edwards, even asking the former governor to act as his son's godfather. That son, Norbert "Norby" Chabert, is now a Republican state senator representing Houma.

But Sen. Chabert said Friday he won't be taking a side in the race, confirming Edwards contacted him a few months ago when the Houma native was thinking of running himself: "(Edwards) made it know that my decision to run one way or another would not affect his if he in fact decided to run, which led me to that point to believe he was be extremely serious about running."

Edward will likely bring out the district's African American voters, said Shreveport-based pollster and political analyst Elliott Stonecipher, which could help Mary Landrieu in her quest to keep a firm grasp on her Senate seat.

In fact, Stonecipher added, if Edwards helps Landrieu defeat U.S. Rep. Bill Cassidy, R-Baton Rouge, in the highly-anticipated race battle over her seat, this could be a boon for his political legacy.

"Is it chuckles and grands? Is it a last hurrah? I don't know." Stonecipher asked of Edwards' purpose in jumping into the race. "I think he has a real chance of making perhaps even the determinative difference in Mary Landrieu's election...He could really determine not just her being re-elected but perhaps the Democrats keeping the Senate."

While one friend of the governor said there is "no love lost" between Landrieu and Edwards, who don't often speak, her political machine activating in the state come November could also help suss out the vote for him.

But most are not sanguine about Edwards' chances.

"He did something remarkable. He was elected four times, but he didn't get elected with votes from Baton Rouge," said capital area pollster Bernie Pinsonat. LSU political science professor Kirby Goidel agreed.

"It's Louisiana so I'd never rule anything out...But I couldn't really imagine any Democrat winning here," said Goidel. He added a rumored Edwards run is already catapulting Louisiana into the national spotlight, which could be good or bad for the state.

"I don't think it's necessarily all that helpful for how Louisiana will be treated in the national press," said Goidel. Edwards has already garnered national headlines, with media poking fun at his tawdry one-liners, 10 year prison sentence on bribery, extortion and racketeering charges and his wife Trina, 50 years his junior, with whom he bombed in a short-lived reality TV show last year.

"On the other hand, the 6th District will get national attention that it would not have otherwise gotten...You could always hope that the attention that it gets here translates into some of the positives," Goidel said.

Stonecipher was less optimistic.

"I wish to everything that he would not do this...He's just keeping alive the whole issue of corruption in Louisiana because he just got out of prison," Stonecipher said, adding, "We wish him no ill. I wish he felt the same way toward the state of Louisiana."

When the States-Item and The Picayune merged in 1980, Edwards famously remarked, "Well, two wrongs don't make a right." Come Monday, some might be saying the same thing about an Edwards' run for Congress.